1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to vehicle grille or brush guards.
2. Description of the Art
Vehicle grille or brush guards are typically formed of a tubular frame structure having horizontal slats and/or vertical posts mounted within an outer frame. The brush guard is mounted by means of brackets in front of the vehicle grille and headlights.
Typically, brush guards have been mounted over the top and front of the bumper and connected to the top or side of the vehicle frame rails or extend below the bumper to a connection with the bottom of the frame rails. Such mounting arrangements place a portion of the brush guard in front of the vehicle front bumper where it is in a position to contact an object during a front collision before the bumper engages the object.
However, the placement of a vehicle brush guard in front of the bumper raises a significant problem with respect to the on-board collision sensors which are designed for interaction with crush surfaces in the vehicle to activate a passenger restraint, such as an air bag, at the proper time during a front end collision so that the air bag inflates in sufficient time to absorb forward motion of the vehicle front seat occupant(s).
The conventional mounting of vehicle brush guards in front of the vehicle will cause the vehicle crush surfaces to begin their movement toward each other and result in an earlier engagement with and earlier triggering of the vehicle collision sensors which activate the air bag restraint slightly earlier than would be normal if the vehicle did not have a brush guard and the vehicle bumper itself, as it was originally designed, first contacted the object. An earlier than designed activation of the air bag during a front collision will cause the air bag to inflate earlier than normal such that the air bag itself would be starting to deflate when first contacted by a vehicle front seat occupant. This, of course, negates the restraint features provided by the air bag.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a vehicle brush guard mountable in front of the vehicle grille which does not change the spatial relationship between the vehicle crush surfaces which trigger collision sensors used to activate a vehicle passenger restraint air bag in a front end collision.